Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09YAOUNDE581
2009-06-29 15:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yaounde
Cable title:  

Cameroon's Separatist SCNC Still Pushing its Cause

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PINR CVIS CM 
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DE RUEHYD #0581/01 1801549
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291549Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0046
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000581 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/C AND DRL

DHS FOR ICE

USDOC FOR ITA - BURRESS

E.O. 12958: N/W
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR CVIS CM
SUBJECT: Cameroon's Separatist SCNC Still Pushing its Cause

Summary
-------

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000581

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/C AND DRL

DHS FOR ICE

USDOC FOR ITA - BURRESS

E.O. 12958: N/W
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR CVIS CM
SUBJECT: Cameroon's Separatist SCNC Still Pushing its Cause

Summary
--------------


1. (U) The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is an
Anglophone separatist movement whose ultimate goal is a return to
the two-state Federation which existed pre-1972. The movement has
used violence in the past and has recently internationalized its
campaign by lobbying in Washington, New York and Brussels. The
credibility of the SCNC is questionable, and fake asylum cases for
supposed members are common in both the U.S. and Europe. End
summary.

Historical Overview
--------------


2. (U) The SCNC was founded in April 1993 at an All Anglophone
Conference (AAC) held in Buea, South West Region, in order to
articulate Anglophone grievances. These grievances include a return
to a federation, better representation of Anglophones within the
government, increased use of the English language (especially in
official media),and an end to policies allegedly aimed at the
cultural destruction of Anglophones as a people. In 1993,
Anglophones of Cameroon decided to come together and analyze their
situation within an Anglophone/Francophone State. Their principal
decision was a call for a return to the Federation which existed
before Cameroon became a unified nation on May 20, 1972. In 1994,
the organizers of the AAC adopted a resolution which turned the AAC
Standing Committee into a national movement called the Southern
Cameroons National Council (SCNC). In 1996, new leaders took over,
with more radical ideas. As of 2007, the organization calls itself
the United Nations Trust Territory of the Southern Cameroons
National Council (U.N.T.T.-SCNC). This name has not been designated
by the United Nations, and the SCNC is not an UN-recognized entity.
The SCNC motto, "the force of argument, not the argument of force,"
is at odds with the group's violent history.

A Violent Beginning
--------------


3. (U) The SCNC used violence in the 1990s as a means to demonstrate
their commitment to the cause, and to show the Government of
Cameroon (GRC) their seriousness. In March 1997, SCNC members
killed three gendarme officers in the North West Region. The group
also tried to burn to death a Divisional Officer and his wife in
March 1997, but the couple survived. In 1999, the Yaounde Military

Tribunal convicted 33 of these activists. Sentences ranged from ten
years to life imprisonment for charges such as murder, looting as an
organized gang, illegal possession and use of fire arms. Fifteen
members are still serving prison terms. Government buildings were
also destroyed through arson or gun fire. In 1999, SCNC activists
seized the CRTV-Buea Radio station and declared the independence of
Southern Cameroons. Participants in these events were arrested and
in 2000, the activists were sentenced to two to three years in jail,
on charges of looting and declaration of secession.

Lack of Legal Status Leads to Arrests
--------------


4. (U) The SCNC has never filed an application with the GRC to form
a political party and has never legally registered as an
organization. Although it claims to be a peaceful liberation
movement, the SCNC is considered an illegal organization by the GRC
because it supports secession, a cause which is illegal according to
the Cameroonian Constitution. According to Section 4 of the
December 19, 1990 law which governs Freedom of Association,
"Associations founded in support of a cause or in view of a purpose
contrary to the Constitution, the law and public policy, as well as
those whose purpose is to undermine especially security, the
integrity of the national territory, national unity, national
integration or the republican character of the state shall be null
and void."


5. (U) SCNC members are often arrested when they meet, since illegal
organizations are not allowed to meet. A group was arrested on
October 1, 2008 for raising an SCNC flag on the anniversary of
Cameroon's conversion from federal to unitary state. This case was
recently adjourned to June 29, 2009 due to the absence of several of
the accused. Twenty-four SCNC members were arrested on April 21,
2009 in Bamenda as they gathered for a meeting. The members were
released quickly and legal proceedings have not yet started on this
case. Ten SCNC members were arrested on May 27, 2009 and seven were
released soon after. Three members were transferred to Yaounde for
judicial proceedings and released on June 3, 2009.
Leadership
--------------


6. (U) The current head of the SCNC is Ambassador Henry Fossung, the
Secretary General is the Reverend Dr. Andrew Ambeazich, and the
spokesperson is Barrister Achem Joseph Ashu. Henry Fossung is a
retired career diplomat with a Masters degree in Law and
International Relations from the American University in Washington,
D.C. He served as Cameroon's Ambassador to the Central African
Republic, Chad, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. There are branch
offices of the SCNC abroad that lobby foreign governments and
international organizations for recognition.

Internationalizing the Cause
--------------


7. (U) The absence of dialogue with the government has led the SCNC
to develop an international strategy, especially at the level of the
United Nations, the Commonwealth and the African Union. In the last
six years, the Council has sent many legal/rhetorical documents to
these organizations to make the case that Southern Cameroons should
become an independent entity. In November 1999, the SCNC applied
for admission into the UN as a full member of the organization. In
2000, it also applied for membership with the Commonwealth (both
applications were denied). More recently, it filed a complaint
against the Government of Cameroon at the African Commission on
Human Rights.


8. (U) In 2002, the SCNC named a Head of Mission for the United
States of America in Washington, D.C. (office located on K Street).
The purpose was to launch a diplomatic offensive in Washington and
New York that would help push the admission of the organization to
the UN. These initiatives have so far failed to produce results,
especially as the credibility of the organization is increasingly
being questioned. Other diplomats in Yaounde have also report
seeing increased lobbying by SCNC groups based in their home
countries.

COMMENT: Questionable Credibility
--------------


9. COMMENT: (U) The SCNC is a marginal organization with a limited
following (probably numbering in the hundreds). Its members seem
disconnected from the realities of the current world. The SCNC has
no standing in Cameroonian politics, not only because of its illegal
status, but also because most Cameroonians - including Anglophones -
do not agree with its separatist ideology and strongly reject its
involvement in violent actions ten years ago. Nonetheless, there is
a widespread passive approval of SCNC activities as an expression of
linguistic and political fault lines. Many Anglophones do feel
marginalized and cheated by the Francophone majority (and sometimes
their own leaders' collaboration with them). Some of them might
support a return to a federal state system if it were done through
peaceful means. Today, the organization appears to focus on making
its case and fundraising to international audiences through the
internet and other communication tools. The SCNC recently tried to
garner public support to claim rights and benefits on behalf of the
population inhabiting the Bakassi region, arguing that this
population has a similar claim against the GRC. This attempt has
not been successful to date.


10. (U) There have been allegations that the SCNC makes money from
providing fake asylum documents to Cameroonians in the U.S. Some
people see asylum fraud as the organization's main purpose, although
it is difficult to confirm such allegations. In an interview with
"The Herald" newspaper in 2003, Sam Ekontang Elad (Chairman of the
1993 All Anglophone Conference) said that when his leadership team
left, "the new leadership had no vision and saw the Cause as a
source for enriching themselves." There have been many cases of
Cameroonians claiming asylum in the U.S. because they allege that
they fear persecution as members of the SCNC; many of these claims
were later found to be fraudulent. European countries have also
seen a large number of fraudulent asylum cases, but have found that
numbers slowed after most cases were denied. While it is very
difficult for post to accurately evaluate the volume of SCNC claims,
they number several hundred annually, with perhaps half of them
being approved. Post has been asked by the Department of Homeland
Security to investigate a few dozen suspect cases in the past three
years and has found every one of them to be fraudulent. Recently,
Cameroonian lawyer Patrick Tzeuton, a specialist in bogus SCNC
claims based in Maryland, was convicted of immigration fraud and
sentenced to five years in federal prison and three years of
supervised release for assisting hundreds of his countrymen in
making false claims for asylum. This conviction and the eroding
credibility of the SCNC seem to be pushing Cameroonians to favor
other claims as the basis for asylum. For example, asylum
applicants now routinely allege that membership in the main
opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) has led to their
persecution.


11. (SBU) The SCNC leadership is elusive and its support base is
difficult to assess. We believe its domestic following is very
small. The organization is not considered to be a significant
player in mainstream Cameroonian politics and appears to have a
larger support base outside Cameroon than domestically. As many of
the founding members age and fewer new members join, the
organization increasingly appears out of touch. If, however, a
dynamic leader enters the picture, or if armed resistance is
perceived as being a viable alternative, the SCNC could transform
into a violent alternative to the Social Democratic Front (SDF),the
leading opposition party in Cameroon. One senior SDF contact told
us, for example, that he believes SCNC members were involved in
sparking the nationwide February 2008 riots. END COMMENT

GARVEY